Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
Employers have a ‘duty of care’ for the safety of employees at work, regardless of the type or size of the business.
There is also a duty of care to others who may be affected by their business activities, which, in the case of driving, means all other road users.

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Employers are required to carry out risk assessments, make arrangements to implement necessary measures, appoint competent people and arrange for appropriate information and training.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
These regulations cover a wide range of basic health, safety and welfare issues including traffic routes for vehicles within the workplace.

Road Traffic Acts supported by the Highway Code
The Highway Code applies to all road users and includes information on signs and markings, road users, the law and driving penalties.
It is an offence for an organization to set driver schedules which may cause them to break speed limits and / or have payment reward schemes which in any way incentivises them to do so.

EC Drivers' Hours Rules
UK Domestic Drivers' Hours Rules
Tachograph Regulations
The Road Transport (Working Times) Regulations 2005
It is the driver’s and employer’s responsibility to ensure compliance with drivers’ hours and Tachograph Regulations. They are applicable to goods vehicles in excess of 3.5 tonnes. Tachographs must be used to record hours of driving, other work, breaks and rest periods. Additional information can be found on the DfT website (use the search function and type in “tachograph” or “drivers’ hours”).

The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1996
Provides information regarding the safety of loads on vehicles.

Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
The Act introduces an important new option for certain very serious senior management failures, which result in fatality. Prosecutions will be of the corporate body, not individuals, but the ability to prosecute directors or other individuals under health and safety law or the general criminal law, in appropriate cases, will be unaffected.
The corporate body itself and individuals can also still be prosecuted for separate health and safety offences.

Careless Driving
Changes to sentencing guidelines and the part introduction of provisions of the Road Safety Act during August 2008 have meant a shift in the emphasis placed on careless driving. The changes will hit home the message that driving involves control of a potentially lethal weapon and requires total concentration.

The Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines now make specific reference to degrees of carelessness. For example, a momentary lapse of concentration at a low speed is considered less culpable and would be subject to the imposition of3-4 points whereas overtaking at speed, resulting in a collision, would attract 7-9 points or a disqualification order. The magistrates would also consider driving at excessive speed, carrying out other tasks whilst driving, disregarding the extra risk associated with carrying a heavy load and tiredness as indicating a higher degree of culpability. The increased importance attached to careless driving is emphasised in the fact that the maximum fine for careless driving has doubled from £2500 to £5000.
However, perhaps the most significant change in the way the courts are viewing offences for careless driving is the introduction of the new offence of causing death by careless driving, where for the worst cases drivers can face up to 5 years imprisonment.

Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008
The Act which came into force on the 16th January 2009 which amends the sentencing provisions contained in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The new Act is aimed at punishing individuals unlike the Corporate Manslaughter Act, which targets the organisation. Unlike the Corporate Manslaughter Act a breach of health and safety rules will not have to result in a death.

The Health and Safety Act 2008 extends the £20,000 maximum Magistrates’ Court fine to a wider range of health and safety offences for which fleet managers and fleet decision-makers, including directors, could be prosecuted for, to up to two years in a prison, if convicted in a Crown Court, a fine or both.
Health and safety legislation will now be used to prosecute an employee whose management failings resulted in a car crash that was caused by, for example:

• Illegal/unsafe tyres
• A poorly maintained vehicle
• An employee not receiving driver training
• An employee being forced to work long hours
  

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